Video: Mar Vista Celebrates Honey Bee Awareness Day

By Chelsea McFarland

People swarmed to HoneyLove’s Honey Bee Awareness Day at the on Saturday to walk the yellow carpet ahead of a screening of the new documentary Vanishing of the Bees.

HoneyLove has been now with the Mar Vista Community Council in an effort legalize beekeeping in Los Angeles, beginning with a feasibility study and outreach campaign for a proposed pilot project within the community. 

Saturday's event was an extension of the outreach efforts to connect with and educate Mar Vistans. Over the July 4 weekend at the Mar Vista Farmers’ Market, HoneyLove collected over 500 signatures in a single day.

Among the 100 plus attendees at Saturday’s event was Councilmember Bill Rosendahl.

“This is a great moment… I'm a big fan of bees!" he said. "Without bees, we wouldn't be,” he continued. “The bee is an essential part of the eco-system that transfers the pollen from plant to plant. We would not be alive without bees...so whatever we can do to encourage people to support bees, I'm for!"

Everyone was invited to have his or her picture taken with fun props and costumes, sample local honey, and sign a petition to legalize urban beekeeping. Children also got in on the act, coloring, stamping, stringing beads, dressing up and getting temporary tattoos.

You can help support the pilot project by signing the beekeeping petition here, and taking the Mar Vista stakeholder’s survey here.

For more information on how to get involved, check out HoneyLove.org

Did you attend Saturday's event? If you have photos, feel free to add them to this story.

Editor's note: Chelsea McFarland is the co-founder of HoneyLove, along with her husband Rob McFarland.